Port St. Lucie plant enthusiast dies, leaving behind beloved nursery

CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
For three decades, late Port St. Lucie resident Carl Reddish operated a plant nursery from the back yard of his inconspicuous two-bedroom house on Floresta Drive.

PORT ST. LUCIE — Carl Reddish was a man so passionate about plants that he was willing to fight for them.

For three decades, the late Port St. Lucie resident was seen by some as a thorn in the city's side. Reddish, who died last week at age 96 from what family members believe was a heart attack, operated an illegal plant nursery from the backyard of his inconspicuous two-bedroom house on Floresta Drive,

For years, code enforcement officers demanded Reddish cease the sale of his plants in the residential neighborhood.

But not even the threat of jail and the imposition of a number of fines exterminated Reddish's green thumb, family members said, and eventually, when Reddish grew older, the city threw in the towel.

Reddish's daughter and Port St. Lucie resident Dianne Martin, 59, said the man behind the nursery was often misunderstood.

"This was his whole existence," said Martin who, added when her father, who suffered from macular degeneration, was too feeble to walk he would tend to his four-lot nursery with the aid of a motorized scooter. "It was his love and his passion."

Martin said the self-taught plant aficionado also loved giving landscaping advise to neighbors and customers.

Upon entering the gated land, which is shielded by perfectly manicured privacy hedges, customers enter a peaceful oasis of lush vegetation. The constant hum of a homemade sprinkler system adds to the nursery's serenity. Several walkways snake through the nursery which is filled with hundreds of potted foxtail palms, bougainvillea bushes, orange trees, Phoenix roebeleniis and eugenias. A greenhouse constructed out of plastic tarp and porch screening sits on the property and is packed full of baby plants Reddish nursed from seedlings.

Reddish's granddaughter and Port St. Lucie resident Christina Martin, 38, said Reddish had an unmatched spunk about him.

"He had a zest for life. He loved to live," Martin said. "He liked to socialize, go to jai alai, play the lottery and get dressed up to go out to dinner."

"He would take my 4-year-old daughter around the nursery on his scooter," Martin said. "He just adored her and she loved going down to the nursery to play in the dirt."

Dianne Martin said her father even had a nursery at their Miami home, where she grew up.

Reddish, who was born in Starke, served in the Army during World War II. Before retirement, he was a lead mechanic for 30 years at Eastern Airlines in Miami. Reddish was predeceased by his wife, Jean, in 2005 and had seven grandchildren and six great-grandchildren.

Since her father's April 10 death at a caretaker's home, where he had been for a week after collapsing in his garden after a stroke, Dianne Martin said customers have been stopping by to get their last Reddish grown plant.

Martin said she plans to contact the city to ask if they'll allow her to sell the rest of her father's stock.

Jim Ward, 49, of Port St. Lucie said he's been a loyal customer for 10 years. Ward said Reddish's competitive prices were 20 to 30 percent cheaper than commercial nurseries. Ward estimates he's purchased around 40 plants from Reddish for his own yard.

"He just enjoyed letting the plants live and watching them grow," said Ward, who added Reddish cared deeply for the environment and believed his nursery help purify the air from pollution.

Customer and next door neighbor Jill Risser, 45, said Reddish's historic nursery, along with her property, will be leveled as part of the Crosstown Parkway extension. She plans on unearthing several of the 20 plants she purchased from Reddish and bringing them with her when she moves.

"That was his little paradise and I loved it, too. I loved looking out my window at all of his plants," Risser said. "He was always telling me about plants. In his mind, he had already landscaped my whole yard. I'm going to miss him."